Bristol Rovers 0-2 Barnet
Sky Bet League Two, The Memorial Stadium, Monday 29 December 2025
Bristol Rovers lost their final fixture of 2025 after falling to a 2-0 defeat to Barnet in Sky Bet League Two.
In a quiet first half, where Joel Cotterill found the back of the net before being flagged for offside, the Bees gained the lead just before the break when Adam Senior bundled the ball just over the line.
Barnet then had an opportunity to double their advantage from the penalty spot when Ben Winterburn was fouled inside the penalty box, but Luke Southwood denied Mark Shelton.
Rovers then went agonisingly close to a leveller. However, Alfie Kilgour's close-range header was pushed over by Cieran Slicker before Ryan Glover got Barnet's second goal four minutes from the end with a powerful strike into the top corner.
Steve Evans only made one change to the team that lost 3-2 to Bromley, with Ruel Sotiriou coming in for Shaq Forde. A closely contested start to the match saw Bristol Rovers take control of the ball and start to probe the visitors' defence as wingers Sotiriou and Thomas looked to get in behind the Barnet backline.
With only one shot in the opening 20 minutes, Joel Cotterill was sent in behind by Luke Thomas and smashed the ball past Cieran Slicker in the Barnet goal, but the Welshman was deemed to be in an offside position. Moments later, Cotterill was involved again, playing through Ruel Sotiriou, but he failed to control the ball, and the chance went begging.
Rovers continued to limit Barnet's opportunities before Kamil Conteh had a half-chance, lifting a left-footed attempt from outside the box well over the bar. Late in the first half, Barnet took the lead against the run of play. A corner from the right was met by Adam Senior, who hit the bar with his header before scrambling in his following effort.
The Gas started the second half as they did the first, knocking the ball around the Barnet half, and Thomas stung the Bees goalkeeper's gloves with an effort from outside the box. Conteh drove at the defence on the left-hand side, breaking into the box before sliding a low cross into the area, but it was claimed just in time by Slicker.
Barnet then won a penalty after Conteh fouled Winterburn, but Southwood stood firm to the challenge from Shelton, diving down low to his left to deny the midfielder.
Rovers gained immediate momentum, with the crowd at The Memorial Stadium lifting. The Gas started putting pressure back on Barnet and went close to levelling when Alfie Kilgour got onto Jack Sparkes' corner, but his header was pushed away by the goalkeeper. Soon after, Taylor Moore had a tame strike saved.
The Bees then doubled their advantage towards the end of the contest to secure all of the points. A corner could only be cleared as far as Glover, who thundered a strike into the top-left corner.
Bristol Rovers: Southwood, Sparkes, Moore, Kilgour, Mola, Sotiriou (Dewsbury 74), Thomas (Chang 80), Cotterill, McEachran (Senior 61), Conteh, Cavegn
Subs not used: Young, Negru, Lockyer, Issaka
Booked: Mola, Sparkes, Kilgour
Barnet: Slicker, Collinge, Senior, Ndlovu (Assombalonga 88), Kanu, Glover, Winterburn (Hawkins 75), Shelton, Tavares, Ofoborh, Kizzi
Subs not used: Evans, Smith, Hartigan, Adeniran, Hugill
Goals: Senior, Glover
Booked: Winterburn, Ofoborh
Referee: Declan Bourne
Attendance: 8335 (255 away)
